With the new customization programme for the recently launched Ford Kuga, Delta4×4 wants to put its well-known amprent also on the kinetic design of the American vehicle.

First of all, the tuning company increased the ground level with 55 cm and added new alloy wheels with diameter ranging from 18 to 22 inch. The 2.0 liter engine, thanks to the new ECU tweaking, develops now 162 hp and 380 Nm of torque. Everything is offered at a price of €34,990 including the price of the manufacturer’s model.

The Most Outrageous Solstice in the World
No, this isn’t an Ed Roth sketch of what a Solstice might look like on acid. It’s a real-life widebody kit made by Mallett, the crazy folks who managed to squeeze a Corvette V-8 under the Solstice’s tiny hood. Called the Pitbull Edition, this six-piece kit widens the car by four inches in the front and five inches in the rear. A wider body means room for wider tires, and we can’t say that’s a bad idea, considering that Mallett will ram a 7.0-liter Z06 engine under the hood for the right price. Made out of fiberglass, the whole kit will cost 16,000-18,000 dollars after paint and installation. By special order only, Mallett will mold the body panels out of carbon fiber instead of glass. Look for Mallett to officially debut the Pitbull Edition at the 2007 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

 When a tuning company decides to play with a car that’s essentially first-class, there’s a very real danger that the core qualities that made the standard car so good will be sacrificed for the sake of extreme power outputs and a super-size alloys. So you can imagine our scepticism when the evo car park resonated to the deep-chested rumble of the new Hartge S3-3.5.

Nothing against Hartge, you know. Indeed, from experience we know it creates some of the most thoroughly considered conversions in the industry. And yet, knowing how silky and understatedly stonking the biturbo BMW 335i it is based upon is, we couldn’t help but wonder what this re-interpretation would be like.

There’s no doubting that Hartge’s 335i looks the part, a set of 20in multi-spoke ‘Classic 2’ rims, low-profile Pirelli P Zero Nero rubber (235/35 front, 265/30 rear), a discreet carbon chin spoiler and a quartet of polished tailpipes seemingly all that’s required to transform the standard 335’s looks from plain to plain stunning.

However, it’s beneath the svelte two-door body that Hartge has really gone to town. As tested, the S3-3.5 currently develops 360bhp and 328lb ft, thanks to a re-map of the motor’s ECU. The engine work is still in the final stages of development, though, and will eventually run sports catalysts and possibly an intercooler, lifting power and torque outputs to 381bhp and 336lb ft – a thumping gain of 79bhp and 41lb ft over the standard 335i.

Impressive figures, but what they fail to convey is the increased sense of muscle and urgency, and the delicious and seemingly ever-increasing surge of power and torque as you power through each gear. In developing the revised management system, Hartge found just how much BMW had reined-in the 335’s engine (presumably to avoid any embarrassing comparisons with the E46 M3), but now that the engine has been allowed a little more electronic freedom it delivers big league performance without any compromise in smoothness. Continue reading »

One for the future - that’s how this stunning new Aston Martin is being described by its celebrated designer

The coupé is called the DB-One, and is the work of Ruben Vela, an independent Spanish stylist. It shows how the firm’s new owners could evolve the current line-up - and Aston fans will be pleased to see several of the British brand’s trademark styling cues on the sleek two-door.

These include a distinctive grille outline, and the long-nosed bonnets for which the car maker is famous. It even features air vents in the front wings, as on the legendary DB5 coupé.

Vela’s concept has smooth surfaces and pronounced creases which run from the nose to the rear wheelarches. A low-slung body with huge five-spoke chrome alloy wheels helps to create an aggressive, purposeful stance.

Narrow hi-tech headlamps resembling air vents sit on the rounded nose, while the glass roof canopy mimics that of an F-15 fighter jet plane. Sporty details in the luxuriously appointed two-seater cabin include a race-inspired, flat-bottomed steering wheel, traditional Aston instrumentation and supportive bucket seats. Yet despite the clever roof and strikingly sculpted body sides, the most dramatic part of the design is its sweeping back end.

The upturned tail rises to meet the near-horizontal rear deck with a narrow, black band which incorporates the LED tail-lights. It runs parallel to the underbody diffuser, which has been designed to help keep the 200mph car glued to the road at high speed.